Closed primaries disenfranchise voters

How long will Pennsylvania voters have to put up with being disenfranchised?

The New Hampshire primary showed how starkly paranoid the Pennsylvania political scene is: There were several dozen candidates on the New Hampshire ballot. New Hampshire primary policy is set by the state, in the interests of all voters, no matter what their party affiliation (or lack of one).

Compare that with the stranglehold Pennsylvania's Republican and Democratic party machines maintain on our state's primaries. Having lived and voted in other states, I find it incredibly high-handed that two parties have the authority to exclude voters who refuse to register with one or the other.

Just as neither party will always have a lock on good ideas, neither will either one be exempt from bad ones. The impression they give me is that both parties are afraid of voters who have the intelligence and desire to think for themselves.

To quote from an interview by Shira Schoenberg with New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner in a recent Patriot-News/Parade article: [New Hampshire] "is committed to granting everyone, from the president to a political novice, an equal voice."

To all Pennsylvania politicians: If you're so sure that your way is the right way, why are you so afraid to let all of the voters decide for themselves?